The Shift to Low-Cost IT Services

From the NYTimes:

Hoping to save money, Arista Networks, a start-up based in Menlo Park, Calif., has much of its internal technology processes online, or “in the cloud.” Instead of buying its own hardware and software systems from the likes of Microsoft and Oracle, it opted for e-mail and online document services from Google and online sales and manufacturing software from Netsuite, based in San Mateo, Calif.

It is spending a fifth of what it would be for traditional technology, said Jayshree Ullal, Arista’s chief executive. She smells a trend.

“I think 80 percent of the new high-tech and small to mid-size companies are doing what we’re doing,” she said.

A spate of start-ups have seized on cloud computing. Companies like Intacct offer online accounting software as an inexpensive alternative to Microsoft’s products, and giants like Amazon.com sell access to data centers for business operations. Amazon has outpaced the traditional hardware makers with such services.

The number of virtualized new servers has doubled over the last three years, which has driven the revenue of VMware, one of the leaders in this cost-saving technology, to an estimated $1.88 billion last year from $387 million in 2005.

WordPress’ built-in export/import func …

WordPress’ built-in export/import functionality makes it a snap to merge two blogs into one. You simply export from the blog you’re going to retire, import into the blog you’re going to keep, and then forward the old domain to the new one.

Here’s my tip: do not select an existing blog user to “own” the imported content! Instead, create a new temporary user just for that content. Here is why: the imported posts may need some manual cleanup, like integration into the new blog’s category structure, or adding/removing tags. By importing into a new author, you’re creating a way to view only the posts imported in that batch. Simply go to the Users → Edit screen and then click the number of posts next to the temporary import author. Boom, you’re looking at only the imported posts. Then, as you clean up their categories and tags using 2.7’s bulk edit or quick edit features, you can simultaneously reassign the posts to their proper author. Once there are no more posts for that temporary import author, delete that author, and you’re done!

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CallGraph is a freeware call recorder ad …

CallGraph is a freeware call recorder addon for Skype. An essential add-on for business calls.

http://www.callgraph.in/index.php

1. Help a reporter out (http://www.he …

1. Help a reporter out (http://www.helpareporter.com/) – One of the easiest ways to get story leads also happens to be free. Just sign up and you’ll receive an email (usually twice daily) of press queries organized by industry/interest for easy scanning. I recommend you give it a try (you can always unsubscribe if it’s not useful to you).

The concept of Social Proof: http://www …

The concept of Social Proof:
http://www.copyblogger.com/social-media-change/

Required reading for freelancers: http:/ …

Required reading for freelancers: http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08%2F12%2F07%2F1822235&from=rss

“Replace Your HR Department” is a good …

“Replace Your HR Department” is a good promotional vehicle for us I’m thinking. This is the software to do it: http://www.orangehrm.com/demo.shtml

I’ll figure out how to integrate it into our advertising — first step, an in-depth article about the uselessness of HR in the 21st century…

Sir Isaac’s Third Law: spending trends …

Sir Isaac’s Third Law: spending trends in the marketplace are reversing course as companies search for faster, cheaper solutions to everyday business problems. Open source anyone?

Open source software is freely available, easily downloadable, and deployed and modified without any licensing cost. Though not strictly free-in-house administration and support costs money — open source software can provide a tremendous boost to struggling small and medium businesses. Three reasons open source is going to save us — watch out while I lay ‘em on ya.

You always make time when there’s less money.

You got two resources with which to do business: time, and money. Build vs. buy arguments die out when the economy softens because enterprise software is expensive. Take databases. MySQL, PostGres, and Ingres can be downloaded, installed, and up and running for little if any cost. Businesses will trade support time for fiscal cost.

Free software removes previous barriers to entry.

It’s cheaper and easier to start a business on open source. Microsoft SQL Server starts at $1,500. MySQL is free. Photoshop costs $699. GIMP is free. Microsoft Office costs between $149 and $499 depending on the version you purchase. Open Office is free. With only 20 employees, using Open Office can save you $3,000 to $10,000.

You buy the shovel, but you want the hole.

It’s amazing how easy it is to forget that software is just a tool. Companies purchase software so their employees can execute specific tasks. You don’t need a laser-guided shovel with built-in GPS navigation to dig your hole. A plain ol’ shovel will get the job done just fine.

A Monday & Thursday publishing schedule …

A Monday & Thursday publishing schedule works best for most blogs. Monday morning captures the desk worker sitting down distractedly to a week of routine. Thursday gets the attention of people arranging their weekend activities.

So articles and feature-quality pieces should publish monday morning; events, timely information on Thursday. If there is lighter fare to be posted — amusements, fun trivialities — Friday or even Saturday is appropriate.

We are putting the final touches on our …

We are putting the final touches on our web site and the myriad sites that connect to it. Its been a few long months getting started but we are almost there!